To Whatever End (Echoes of Imara Book 1) by Claire Frank Page A

she looked ahead, she grabbed random bits of forest debris with her Reach and tossed them behind her, hoping to make the Sensor at least stumble and put more distance between them.
    With gasping breaths and burning legs, she leaped over a fallen log and Reached to toss another branch behind. The footfalls of her pursuer still followed. She didn’t risk a look behind and was too weak to open her Awareness. It felt like running blindfolded.
    The sound of rushing water roared nearby and she veered toward it. Something hard pelted her in the back and nearly sent her sprawling, but she kept her feet and pushed harder as she ran toward the water.
    The forest opened up and she skidded to a halt at the edge of a ravine, the churning water of a river below her. The drop was twenty feet straight down. She darted a quick look over her shoulder and saw the Sensor. He’d picked up a straight, pointed stick and drew his arm back to hurl it at her.
    She pushed off the edge of the drop and leaped into the air, her feet slipping on the loose soil, sending rocks and dirt falling. As the water rushed toward her, she desperately Wielded, using every ounce of energy she had left and Pushed against the water, hoping to slow her descent. She pulled in her legs and gripped them with her hands as she splashed into the icy water.
    The freezing glacial melt knocked the breath out of her as she plunged downward. Trying to kick up, she pushed against the riverbed to the air above, but her legs barely moved. The freezing water assaulted her, sucking the heat from her body. She struggled to the surface and felt the rushing water pull her downstream. Her head broke the surface and she took a gasping breath. As she turned to look, she could see the Sensor still standing on the cliff side, watching her until the river quickly took her around a bend, out of sight.

11. SOLACE

    Cecily dragged herself from the water onto the riverbank, shivering uncontrollably. She’d ridden the current downstream until the sides of the ravine sloped downward, gradually lowering to meet the level of the river below. As the river widened, the current slowed and she was able to struggle to the side and haul herself up onto the muddy bank.
    She coughed and spit up water as she crawled out of the mud on her forearms and knees. Her fingers were stiff and useless from the cold, her body convulsing with violent shivers. With chattering teeth, she turned over and sat on the dirt a few feet out of the water. Her clothes hung off her, wet and heavy, and water dripped from her hair, onto her face and down her back.
    She hoped the Sensor had been left far behind, but she couldn’t be sure. She’d stayed in the river as long as she could stand, moving faster than someone on foot. As she stood, she stumbled on her numb feet. She needed to get warm, but as she looked around, she wasn’t sure how.
    With a shuddering breath, she wrapped her arms around herself and opened her Awareness. Despite her freezing body, her Wielding Energy was returning, her image of the surrounding area sharp. Though she couldn’t feel any sign of her attacker, she didn’t assume he was gone. If he was tracking her down the river, he’d be Shielding. She pushed outward, looking for anything that might help her. There was nothing. The forest spread around her, only tall pines and ivy, low ferns and moss.
    She felt an overwhelming desire to lie down and close her eyes, but something told her she wouldn’t get up if she gave into that dark temptation. Her first thought was to get away from the river, so she dragged herself along on numb feet, arms tucked into her body. Her vision grew blurry and her knees would scarcely bend, leaving her feet to scrape along the dirt as she walked.
    One step at a time was all she could do. She was sure each stride would be her last, that her leg would slide forward, only to crumple, and she would fall to the ground. Somehow she kept her feet and continued forward, step after